


Chat

by coneygoil



Category: Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-09 00:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8868259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coneygoil/pseuds/coneygoil
Summary: Calhoun has an interesting conversation with Felix's old flame.





	1. Chapter 1

Tamora watched the mass of characters mill around the station as she sat on the bench outside the outlet of _Fix-It Felix Jr_. She and Felix had plans to game jump for their date that evening, but the handyman was running late. Tamora would have been fit to be tied if it wasn’t for the message Wreck-It delivered. A ruptured pipe in one of the Niceland Apartments needed fixing, but Felix had to find where it was in the wall first.

Tamora didn’t wish to cause any havoc walking into his game without Felix as a buffer. She’d had one encounter with the citizens of Niceland, and it was the most awkward experience she’d ever had in her programmed life. It didn’t help that she had blasted in fully armored on her cruiser, scaring the living daylights out of two of the little women.

So, she opted to wait for him on the bench and people watch. Most people who walked by barely gave her a passing glance, but this one woman – a brunette looking like to a short Jessica Rabbit in her bright red dress – sauntered by, but her click-clack heels stopped. She turned to face Tamora, smiling as she walked over to her.

“Hi,” the brunette greeted, lacing her fingers together in front of her, “are you new to the arcade?”

Tamora perked up, surprised by the question. No one else had bothered to even welcome her to the community. Tamora nodded. “Sergeant Tamora Calhoun of _Hero’s Duty_. We’ve been plugged in for a few weeks now.”

“Welcome to Litwak’s. I’m Pauline. I’m from a game called Donkey Kong, but-“ she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, eyes averting to the floor for a moment, “we were unplugged several years ago.”

“Sorry about that,” Tamora replied, awkwardly, not used to handing out sympathy.

“May sit and chat with you, if you don’t mind the company?” Pauline asked. Tamora gestured to the empty spot next to her on the bench, and the brunette hopped up. “How do like our bustling community so far?”

Tamora shrugged. “It’s alright. I’ve been doing a little exploring in different games. Learned a lot about _Sugar Rush_ the first week I was plugged in.”

“I heard about what happened!” Pauline gasped. “That would’ve been tragic if all those poor characters had lost their game. We’re you the lady who helped save it?”

“Yep,” Tamora sat back, casually, “all in a day’s work.”

“That means you met Felix and Ralph.”

“Wreck-It was the reason for Sugar Rush almost getting eaten alive, but the big lug came through with getting rid of the cy-bugs and he helped restore royalty back to power. I guess he’d not that bad of a guy.” Tamora nodded her chin to the outlet they sat by. “I’m actually waiting for Fix-It. We’re going game jumping.”

“Oh. Is it…a date?” Pauline asked, carefully, and Tamora wondered about her tone.

“You could call it that.”

Pauline offered her a small smile. “Felix is a wonderful man. You’re lucky to have him.”

Tamora was about to question Pauline’s sentiments when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“I made it, my lady.”

She smirked at her little handyman. “It’s not like I missed you or anything.”

Felix was about to retort when he noticed her companion. “Pauline!” He gave the brunette a hug. “I haven’t seen you around in a while.”

“Well, you have been a bit busy lately with your game’s anniversary and helping to save Sugar Rush.” Pauline gestured to Tamora. “Me and the Sergeant were getting to know each other.”

Felix glanced from Pauline to Tamora, the surprise on his features not escaping Tamora’s observant eye. “That’s dandy to hear.”

“I’ll be on my way so you two can get to your outing.” Pauline held out her hand for Tamora to shake. “It was nice meeting you.” She leaned in, whispering something close to Tamora’s ear. “Hold on tight to him, Sergeant. Don’t let the Nicelanders bully you into letting go of what you care about; like they did with me.”

As Pauline pulled back, she held Tamora’s gaze and an understanding passed between the two women. It was evident that Felix and Pauline had a relationship once upon a time that had been sabotaged, and it sparked Tamora’s curiosity about the handyman’s past.

“Take good care of her, Junior,” Pauline said before leaving a kiss on Felix’s cheek and walking away.

Felix glanced up at his date, “What did you gals chat about?”

“Just introductions.” As she grasped his hand and they walked away, Tamora added, “You have a story to tell me.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Felix and Pauline's relationship...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pre-quel to the first part of "Chat".

The Nicelanders were friendly and welcoming to Pauline whenever she visited _Fix-It Felix Jr_. Everything seemed fine…at first.

The trouble didn’t start until one day when one of the Nicelanders spotted her in Game Central Station exiting her game with her dear friend, Donkey Kong. DK may have been intimidatingly large and rough around the edges, but he was a big sweetheart on the inside and he would do anything for her.

DK had bent down at her request, and she’d kissed his muzzle before he lumbered off. It took no time for a Nicelander who’d been introduced to her as Gene to ask a word with her inside the inner station of her outlet.

“Do you always fraternize with the bad guy of your game?” he’d asked with arms crossed and a scorching gaze from his beady eyes.

“Fraternize?”

“It means to-“

Pauline raised a hand. “Pardon me, sir, but I know what it means. I’d like to know why it’s any of your business.”

“Any business of Felix is my business,” Gene answered, leaning forward and pointing a finger at his chest. “If Felix is consorting with a woman who associates with a bad guy, his reputation will be ruined!”

“Felix is a grown man. He can make up his own mind.” Pauline held her chin high, heart pounding from the anger boiling inside her. “Now, if you would excuse me, I must be on my way.”

Pauline thought about sweeping the incident under the rug. There was no need to cause tension between Felix and one of his co-workers. She’d taken Gene for an uptight kind of fellow and couldn’t imagine the other Nicelanders being the same. But what she didn’t know was how much weight Gene carried in _Fix-It Felix Jr_ , and with that weight, she would be crushed.

Not a week had passed when Pauline received an invitation to a ladies party in Niceland. She’d happily accepted; the incident with Gene forgotten. When Pauline arrived at Mary’s apartment, every Nicelander was waiting for her including that mustached jerk.

“What’s going on here?”

Deanna locked the door behind her, the click echoing through the eerily quiet room. “We heard that you associate with a bad guy,” the spectacles-wearing woman informed.

Pauline immediately snapped a glare to Gene. “What did you start?”

“Nothing that shouldn’t be questioned,” Gene came forward, “As Felix’s closest friends, we all need to look out for his best interest and that includes disassociating him from people who would ruin his reputation.”

“I don’t understand your prejudice against bad guys. DK may be the bad guy of our game, but he’s far from that image he was programmed to be.”

Gene crossed his arms, stubbornly. “But the code is still in him, just like every bad guy, and because of that none of them can be trusted!”

Pauline peered around the room, meeting every eye looking her way. “Do all of you believe that? Because I’m certain Felix wouldn’t.”

“Felix is too nice for his own good sometimes.” Gene shot a finger to the floor, his voice far too malicious for someone who resided in a place called Niceland. “We’re here to watch out for him so he won’t be taken advantage of! It was bad enough that when we were first plugged in he was being neighborly to Ralph. I nipped that in the bud before it resulted in consequences.”

Pauline wanted to knock the smug look off Gene’s face at the admission. She’d spoken with Ralph a few times and he seemed to be a very nice man. How could these people be so against him or any bad guy? Pauline decided enough was enough. She wasn’t wasting anymore of her time discussing this with these backwards thinkers.

She planted both hands on her small hips, determined. “None of you can speak for Felix. I’m going to him with this matter, and getting it all straightened out whether you like it or not.” She turned toward the door ready to walk out with her chin held high, but Gene and two other Nicelanders blocked her path to the exit.

“We are Felix’s colleagues, not to mention his closest friends. You can’t just barge into our game and screw up our lives! Do you really want to be known as a home wrecker?” Gene said in one of the nastiest tones she’d ever heard.

Pauline was on the verge of tossing the shorter man aside and getting the hell out of the ambush, but a gentle hand touched her shoulder. She glanced behind her to find Mary almost in tears.

“You would turn Felix against us?” Mary asked heart-breakingly, and Pauline gazed about the room to find the same worried expression on every face.

Pauline’s heart dropped into her stomach; the reality of those words burning her inside. Loyalty to your game was taken seriously in Litwak’s arcade. How could she and Felix have a future together if his relationship with his co-workers – the very people he was coded to serve and protect - was severed?

She brushed off Mary’s hand and pushed passed the Nicelanders guarding the door. She rushed away from the apartment and didn’t bothering waiting for the rickety tram. She didn’t stop, avoiding anything that could distract her, until she reached her simple home in Donkey Kong.

Pauline closed the front door, her heart pumping as if it would explode. She could handle Gene’s ugly words, but the fear and uncertainty the other Nicelanders displayed was too much to bear. She couldn’t – she wouldn’t – break up that relationship between them and Felix; not for her own happiness.

Pauline sunk to the floor, tucking her knees to her chest and burying her face into her arms as teardrops fell on her skirt. It pained her to be the one to take the high road. She cared for Felix deeply, but that was also the reason she decided right there to end things before their relationship caused unneeded turmoil.

She wiped the tears away, replacing the sorrow with a brave face. She needed to find Felix before her heart won out over her head.


End file.
